Batman S:03 E:08

Episode Title: The Ogg and I
Original Airdate: November 2, 1967

Of all the villains that were created specifically for this series, as opposed to first appearing in the comics, the one that seems to get mentioned the most is Egghead as portrayed by Vincent Price. He first appeared in the second season and is back again here in the third. Only this time he’s joined by a new villainess, Olga, the Queen of the Cossacks played by Academy Award winner Anne Baxter. Here they come in The Ogg and I.

As the episode opens, Egghead shows up in Commissioner Gordon’s office disguised as a the guy delivering Gordon’s lunch. Then Olga shows up outside the window in a hot air balloon. The two then kidnap the Commissioner. After the opening credits, Chief O’Hara shows up and finds a note that Gordon somehow dropped explaining his fate. Before O’Hara can grab the Batphone, both the Caped Crusaders, and Batgirl show up fearing trouble was afoot. Then, Egghead calls with his ransom demands for Gordon…a ten cent tax on all eggs eaten in Gotham. That very easily adds up to millions of dollars. Batman has no choice but to agree to the tax. Then, the heroes all agree to pursue their own plans to try and track down Gordon.

Batgirl, who is, of course, the Commissioner’s daughter Barbara, contacts Alfred to assist her in her search. Knowing that Gordon favors a certain unusual brand of aftershave, Batgirl figures they can find him by finding the scent. Luckily, Alfred is very familiar with that brand as well. Meanwhile, Batman and Robin try to track down Olga by heading to the embassy of Besarovia. On site there is a valuable item known as the Brass Samovar of Genghis Khan, which they figure Olga will want to steal. Sure enough, she shows up later to do so. When she gets it back to her hideout, though, the Brass Samovar turns out to be a Trojan Horse with Batman and Robin hiding inside. Olga expected that, though. Her men quickly nab Robin and plan to use him as the main ingredient in a Besarovian Borscht. As for Batman, Olga plans on making him one of her six husbands.

While all this is going on, Alfred’s keen sense of smell has picked up the scent of Gordon’s aftershave and summons Batgirl to the location. At just the right moment, she bursts in and all three heroes battle the baddies. However, just when it looks like a bat-victory, Egghead tosses some eggs laid by chickens who have only been fed onions. They explode on impact and emit a tear gas which causes our heroes to weep hard enough that Olga and Egghead are able to slip away. We’ll have to wait until next week to see what happens next.

There are some good elements at work in this episode, but I think this may be a case of having too many villains. Either Egghead or Olga could very well have sustained this episode all on their own. Having both of them, though, is a bit counterproductive. The two battle for screen time. There’s even a scene where the two literally argue with each other for dominance. Vincent Price’s Egghead is delightful, but he ends up underused. Likewise, Anne Baxter is fun as Olga, especially when she’s trying to seduce Batman, but her storyline ends up feeling half-baked.

The episode still has a number of funny moments. Adam West especially shows off his comedic chops in this one. The panicked looks he displayed as Olga climbs all over him are priceless. Likewise, his crying, as result of the onion fueled eggs, is just plain nutty. There’s also some unintentionally funny moments, like how Batman, Robin, and Batgirl all show up at police headquarters just because they all fear something might be wrong. No need for the batphone anymore, I guess. They are starting to develop psychic abilities. It’s the third season, folks, I’ve told you before that things are going downhill a bit.

There is one more moment that will be of interest to classic TV fans. In one scene, Chief O’Hara visits a local diner where he is joined by Egghead. The guy working the counter is played by the Skipper himself, Alan Hale Jr. O’Hara even refers to him as “Gilligan.” Maybe Bob Denver will show up in the next episode and be called “Skipper.” We’ll find out next time in part two of this story, How to Hatch a Dinosaur.  Same bat-time, same bat-channel (superhero).

Bat Gadgets Used:
None

Holys:
Holy Egg Shells
Holy Crying Towels